Obama and Saudi king discuss Iran, energy in symbolic visit

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Jan 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President
Barack Obama met with Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Tuesday to
pay respects to the late King Abdullah and bolster a
relationship that now stretches well beyond oil interests to
security cooperation across the volatile Gulf Arab region.

King Salman, in his first official talks with a high-level
foreign delegation since the death of his half-brother on
Friday, did not express reservations over U.S.-led negotiations
aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear program, a U.S. official said.

It was unclear whether King Salman's comments on the nuclear
talks offered a hint of change. Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's
top Sunni power, has been anxious over the possibility that the
talks would lead to a rapprochement between the United States
and the kingdom's main rival, Shi'ite-led Iran.

The king said Tehran should not be allowed to build a
nuclear weapon, the U.S. official told reporters on Air Force
One following a meeting between the leaders and dinner at Erga
Palace in central Riyadh. A nuclear deal with Iran would be a
major legacy achievement for Obama.

Obama cut short a trip to India to fly to Riyadh, cancelling
plans to visit the Taj Mahal.

He was joined on the four-hour visit by Secretary of State
John Kerry and a bipartisan group of prominent current and
former officials who presence helped to convey the importance of
a relationship that has endured on-off strains in recent years.

The new king also signalled continuity in energy policies by
the world's top oil exporter, the U.S. official said. The two
discussed the stability of the oil market but not current low
oil prices, the official added.

"He simply suggested they would continue to play their role
within the global energy market as they have done and that we
should not expect any difference in the Saudi position," the
U.S. official said, referring to the king.

"The message was one of continuity and commitment to caring
for their traditional roles."

Late last year, Saudi Arabia shocked oil markets by deciding
not to cut production to shore up tumbling crude, opting to
defend its market share against rising North American production
rather than attempt to hold prices at around $100 a barrel

WORSENING STRIFE

Obama's visit came as Washington struggles with worsening
strife in the Middle East, where it counts Saudi Arabia among
its few steady partners in a campaign against Islamic State
militants who have seized swathes of Iraq and Syria.

The U.S. security headache worsened last week after Yemen's
government resigned under pressure by Iran-backed rebels, a
setback to U.S. efforts to contain al Qaeda in that country and
to limit the regional influence of Shi'ite Muslim Iran.

The Yemen government's collapse is of deep concern to Saudi
Arabia because of their common border and because of the advance
of Iran. The leaders discussed Yemen, the U.S. official said.

Saudi's role in rallying Arab countries to join a coalition
against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, has won praise in
Washington, which along with other Western nations values the
kingdom as an important market for its defense industries.

U.S. criticism of Saudi Arabia over its human rights record
has normally been low-key and appears to have remained so during
the visit. The official said the president raised the issue
broadly but did not discuss specific cases.

Saudi authorities have been criticized by international
rights groups for jailing several prominent activists and for
the public flogging this month of a blogger.

Despite an alliance between the two countries that has long
been a cornerstone of U.S. Middle East policy, the kingdom has
made clear its impatience with the Obama administration's
failure to do more to oust Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and its
anxiety over U.S.-led nuclear negotiations with Iran.

This added to a sense among Saudi rulers that Obama was
neglecting old Arab allies. U.S.-Saudi relations have improved
in recent months after Obama made a fence-mending visit to
Riyadh last March.

Even though the United States is now less dependent on Saudi
oil supplies thanks to a domestic production boom, the kingdom's
willingness to keep output high despite tumbling global oil
prices has bolstered Obama's domestic economic recovery efforts
as well as his strategy of keeping pressure on oil producers
Russia and Iran. Both those nations are under international
sanctions.
(Additional reporting by Julia Edwards in Washington and Angus
McDowall in Riyadh; Writing by Jeff Mason; Editing by Jason Szep
and Cynthia Osterman)